


through the jungle through the dark

by YesIsAWorld



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: American AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blow Jobs, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, I promise, M/M, Niall is injured but he's fine, Road Trips, but it happens, ex-friends to Lovers, it's not graphic - just mentioned, oh no niall, shark attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-29
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-07-10 19:09:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7001032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YesIsAWorld/pseuds/YesIsAWorld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis and Harry were best friends, until they weren’t. Five years after they last spoke they’re forced to drive cross-country to visit an injured friend. If they can’t get over the past, it will be a very long week together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. SUNDAY

**Author's Note:**

  * For [taggiecb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taggiecb/gifts).



> [taggiecb](http://archiveofourown.org/users/taggiecb/pseuds/taggiecb) – thanks for such great prompts! Hope you like it!

Louis struggled to open his eyes, finally giving up and flailing his arms about to find his incessantly ringing phone lost somewhere in the mess of sheets, clothes, and, oh, whatshisname from last night. He hit answer just as the call went to voicemail. Louis groaned and squinted at the bright light shining in the otherwise darkened room. Four missed calls from his mom, before dawn? His already queasy stomach nosedived. He was abruptly wide-awake and starting to run though all the morbid possibilities when the phone started to ring again. He scrambled out of bed, trying to find his boxers and scurrying out of the unfamiliar bedroom into a dark living room while keeping his voice low.

“Ma, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry to wake you. I have some bad news.” Her voice was barely a whisper and he wondered if maybe it was news for him alone, maybe something had happened to his biological dad that would concern him more than his sisters. Oh God, his sisters.

“What’s wrong? Are the girls okay?”

“Yeah, they’re fine. A little shaken up, but they’re perfectly fine.”

“So, what happened?” As much as he didn’t want to face whatever this was, he knew he’d have to urge his mom to tell him; she would do anything to avoid hurting him.

She plunged ahead, “It’s Niall actually.” Louis drew a sharp intake of breath. Oh fuck; of all the options in the world that his mom could have said, Louis never would have guessed Niall. She continued, “It was a shark attack. He was out kite surfing early this morning, and it just came out of nowhere. He’s at the hospital now. I don’t… I haven’t spoken to Maura, I’m… I don’t… They said there was a lot of blood.” She let another quiet sob then quickly collected herself. “I don’t have any details, it’s all rumor; you know how it is here. I’ll let you know as soon as I know anything else.” Louis tried to steady his shaking hands. “I wanted to let you know right away. Can’t hurt for us to start praying to that God we don’t believe in.” 

He let out a snort at her joke and Louis suddenly realized that he was sobbing in a stranger’s apartment in the middle of the night while his world came crashing down on the opposite end of the country.

“I’m coming back. I’ll figure out the details, but I want to be there. He shouldn’t be without us.” Us, it registered in the back of his head that there really wasn’t an ‘us’ anymore, the four friends fractured irreparably. “Once I get back to my place, I’ll figure out my plan and let you know. Keep me updated.”

“Louis William Tomlinson! Did you have a date last night?”

“Jay Deakin,” Louis chastised his mom using her soon to be married name, “that’s the part you picked up on? Not up for discussion. I’m going now. Talk soon.” He told his mom almost everything; she really was his best friend, but the thought of telling her about dancing at crowded clubs and finding guys for some anonymous sex was something they could both live without. He did feel guilty about hanging up on her so rudely and sent out a quick text.

_love you.xx_

Her response was instantaneous, _love you too boo. get home safe._

He spent the day alternating between planning different routes on Google Maps packing then repacking clothes, and adding songs to his “seein’ things that I may never see again” playlist.

In the five years that he had lived in Tacoma, Washington, his wardrobe had naturally drifted further and further away from the bright colored shorts, baggy t-shirts, tanks, and flip-flops that he grew up wearing in Key West. He flipped through the current brown, black, and green palette, choosing between the sweaters, button front shirts, and flannels, before he eventually found himself crawling under his bed, where the last vestiges of his previous life remained. The drive from Washington to Florida would wind him through most climates so he knew he’d have to pack a bit of everything, but wasn’t sure how much Florida clothes to pack, or how long he’d be staying.

He pulled out the storage box he hadn’t looked at in a few years, and started digging through his old clothes. He couldn’t help but smile at the smell that he instantly registered as home, the fabric somehow still carrying notes of coconut and salt water. He started picking out his favorite shirts, throwing in more stripes than was necessary, a few from his skulls phase, and all of his Vans tanks. He put aside all of his nautical themed shirts without looking through them, no need to open that wound while still trying to hold himself together and get a plan in place. But one slipped out of his fingers and fluttered to the ground. As soon as he saw it he knew exactly which one it was and couldn’t help himself as he picked it back up and let out another wave of racking sobs.

Five years. He kept reminding himself that it’d been five years and seeing this particular shirt should not wrench such a reaction out of him. He tried to tell himself that he was just overly emotional because of Niall, but he knew that wasn’t it, that this clenching pain in his heart was due to his ex-best friend.

The one he doesn’t think about. He fingered the lettering on the white shirt, the scripted black letters spelling out _Queen’s Surf_ next to a dark palm tree. He knew he had to think about it, because he’d likely see that boy again in a week when he arrived back in the Keys. He hadn’t heard anyone so much as mention his name since he’d left, giving strict orders to his family and also to the rest of their best friend foursome, Liam and Niall, that he wanted no information. Though conversations with them could range from awkward to downright combative, it was necessary. A clean break was easier.

He had been wrong about that, and now he was heading back home and his irrational plan of never seeing him again was going to be foiled. He’d be angry at Niall for causing this, except for the whole barely hanging on to his life because of a shark situation, so he gave Niall a one-time pass.

Without thinking Louis threw the shirt into his duffle then shoved the rest of his old clothes back under his bed. He looked outside to the grey sky that had just started spitting raindrops and moved towards the kitchen to make a cup of tea.

 

Louis had just taken the tea bag out and added his splash of milk when his phone cut through the silence with its shrill ring. He saw _mom_ with the yellow heart emoji and dove across the counter to grab it.

“Hey…” he sounded slightly less worried than he felt, and steeled himself for an update.

“How you holding up, boo?”

“Moooooom,” Louis whined. “What’s the news?”

“Well, Niall made it through surgery, though he’s in critical condition in the ICU. They think he’ll pull through, but it’s still a precarious time.”

Louis almost broke into tears again knowing that at least he was still alive. “Okay. Okay, good. I’m all packed up. I’m going to drive down, can’t quite afford a last minute plane ticket, so I can come as soon as I finish this tea and my hands stop shaking.”

“Absolutely not. You’re not leaving today. You can start your drive tomorrow after a proper night’s sleep.”

“Mom—“

“No, this is not a debate.” Louis knew she was standing with her hand on her hip and with her ‘do not test me’ look fixed on her face. 

“Fine, I’ll leave first thing tomorrow, but if _anything_ changes promise you’ll call and let me know.”

“Of course. Also, there is one more thing.”

“What’s that?” He was met with silence on the other end of the line. “Mom, come on, just tell me. Not a great day for suspense, you know.”

“You have to hear me out. Don’t talk until I’m done explaining.”

“Okay…” he drew the word out in trepidation.

“Harry lives in Seattle,” Louis inhaled at the sound of his name but his mom kept on, “and obviously Anne has kept him up to date about Niall’s status. When I mentioned that you’d probably be driving down, she wondered if maybe Harry could ride with you. It would make us both feel a lot better knowing that the two of you weren’t alone.”

“No.” His heart was going to thump out of his chest at this rate. He had no idea that Harry was this close, forty-five, maybe an hour max away from him. He worried he was going to throw up.

“Louis, come on. I know you two aren’t best friends any more, and you don’t have to be friends at all after this, but after this scare I worry about you driving alone all that way.”

“No.” He wouldn’t, couldn’t budge on this. There’s not a lot that he wouldn’t do for his mom, but this crossed that line. “I won’t. No way.”

His mom sighed. “Louis. You will have to see him at some point if you’re both back home and you know very well that neither he nor you will leave Niall when he needs you boys. So you can worry us all for the next week as you travel and then deal with it, or you can just deal with it now, so you can act civilly around Niall’s family when you get here.” She let out a sigh. Louis could hear the drag of her kitchen chair as she pulled it out to take a seat. “You moved away years ago and I know you’re living your own life, but I am telling you now that you will do this, and you two will find a way to get along or at least pretend to for all of our sakes. You may have built this Harry wall that none of us can scale, but back here we’re all still friends and there will be no escaping him. So man up and do this for Niall.”

“Wow mom, even in bringing in gender constructs for this fight.”

“Sorry, that may have been out of order. But the point stands. You’re traveling together.”

Louis knew this was a losing battle. And his mom was right, as always. He’d have to face him eventually, now eventually was tomorrow. He could actually not think of a better gift for Niall than at least attempting to patch up what was broken between them. Niall had given up begging after the first few years, but he knew it was still hard for Niall to be friends with both of them. If they survived this road trip, Niall better be conscious to appreciate it when they arrived.

“Fine. I’m leaving at 7 am. He can meet me outside my place and if he’s not here on time, I’ll leave without him.”

“Thank you. You’re being very mature about this. Call me every night from the road.”

“Bye.”

He hung up and wondered how he was possibly going to get any sleep.

 


	2. MONDAY

Louis locked his apartment. With two duffle bags slung over his shoulders, a mug of steaming tea in one hand, and his keys in the other, he hoped and hoped with fingers figuratively crossed that Harry wouldn’t be there and he could leave with a clear conscious. He knew better though. He knew that Harry had most likely been waiting for almost an hour because he was always on time, or annoying early for anything important, just as Harry likely wasn’t concerned at all when it was twenty after and Louis still hadn’t appeared. He’d be frustrated, of course, but he wouldn’t expect any better of him since Louis was always late for everything, no matter how important.

He took a deep breath and stepped out into another grey, cloudy day. He had prepared himself, but clearly not well enough because his heart still stopped as soon as he spotted Harry leaning up against the side of the car parked next to his, luggage on the damp sidewalk, face almost a scowl. His hair cut short on the sides and longer on top. Louis remembered the days when his fingers would run absently through Harry’s long curls. He was wearing the tightest black jeans Louis had ever seen anyone wear, which accentuated his gorgeous long legs. Not the most practical pants for a day of sitting in the passenger’s seat, but Louis guessed that Harry knew exactly how great he looked in them. Louis refused to take another look at those legs, averting his eyes to the Chelsea boots. Harry was also wearing a plain grey t-shirt with a dark pea coat and a pair of sunglasses propped on the top of his head. It was unfair that he’d look this put together first thing in the morning.

Louis tried to rearrange his face into something that looked more like a smile than a grimace and called out, “Hey! Wrong car.” The joking tone he was going for may have fallen flat. He ignored it.

Harry pivoted and Louis tried to turn away as Harry scanned Louis the same way Louis had just done to him. He averted his eyes just as Harry’s face turned from emotionless and bored to something more like, disappointment? Louis refused to let that bother him. What Harry thought of him was no longer anything he’d waste any time on and if he was going to judge the sweatpants and training jacket he threw on, that was fine with him. They’d be the most comfortable to drive in, even if he did choose them for the way they hugged his slim waist and great ass.

“Hi to you too,” Harry finally drawled, picking up his bags and heading over to Louis’ sedan.

They got settled in their respective seats without further comment. When Louis turned his Spotify to the newest Fall Out Boy album, Harry pulled a pair of over-ear headphones out of the small bag at his feet, and curled into the window with his eyes closed.

“Well then,” Louis muttered, and pulled out of his parking space, “this is going great.” He focused on the road and tried to avoid looking to his right at all costs. He finished his tea as the album ended and he started up his road trip playlist, figuring an hour or so in it started feeling like a proper adventure and not like he was headed into work to start another week. As Willie Nelson’s voice started crooning “On The Road Again,” Louis dared peek over at Harry. He wondered how Harry ended up in Seattle. That should be a nice even topic to talk about when he wakes, right? Louis sighed and continued following the signs leading him east.

After four hours, Louis needed to stretch and pee and eat something to keep his energy up. Spokane was coming up. Louis pulled off the highway when he saw a sign advertising “Dick’s Hamburgers.” How could he be expected to keep driving past a place with a name like that?

Harry finally stirred as the car slowed to a stop and the engine was cut. “Where are we?” His voice was gravelly with sleep.

“Outside Spokane. I need some food. Want anything?”

Harry’s back popped as he stretched. “I’ll get out.”

They went their separate ways at the stop; Louis straight to the bathroom and Harry to stand in line for sustenance. By the time Louis got his food, Harry had already started eating, head ducked down and hunched over. Louis remembered all the times Anne had scolded Harry for his bad posture and almost laughed at all the good it did. Instead, he sat at the next table over, taking in the scene and trying to avoid catching Harry’s eye. As he finished up, Harry headed over to the bathroom. Then they met back at the car and got in without a word.

Back on the road, Harry stared out his window. “Do you have a plan for this drive?”

“I mean, generally,” his voice lifted at the end as though it was a question. “I checked Google Maps for the quickest route. I figured today we could make it all the way to Billings, Montana. Maybe we stop in Butte along the way?” Louis shrugged, “I mean, can’t really pass that up. At least get a picture of the sign or something?” Harry didn’t comment or indicate that he heard Louis. Louis felt pretty confident with his trip planning until Harry brought it up, now he wondered if there was a better way. “I don’t have reservations anywhere, figured we could play that part by ear.”

Harry let out the tiniest of grunts and continued staring out the window, though there was nothing to see but fields and fields with mountains way off in the background. He didn’t move at all until they reached Butte. Louis hopped out to get a selfie with the “WELCOME TO BUTTE: The Richest Hill on Earth” sign. It would’ve been better if he had worked up the courage to ask Harry to take it for him, but they had another few days and at this point he was just hoping to get there in one piece and not annoy Harry any more than he already was. They parked and walked silently through main street, one patiently waiting for the other if they wanted to stop and look at something that caught their eyes, but forgoing any conversation. Whenever Louis picked up a trinket for one of his siblings, Harry would be on the opposite end of the store. Harry kept his hands, or as much of his hands that would fit, tucked in his front pockets. They meandered back to the car and continued the rest of the drive to Billings with Louis’ playlist the only noise in the car.

It was a little after eight when they pulled into a Best Western. If he were back in Tacoma, Louis would be getting ready to go out with his friends, but the sleepless night (and day of stressful driving) had taken its toll and he was ready to crash into the nearest bed. He shook the thought of Tacoma from his head as they pulled their bags from the trunk and trudged over to the front desk.

“Hi,” Louis put on his best smile despite his exhaustion. “Can we please have two rooms for tonight?”

The woman started typing at her computer, face scrunched in focus. “Well,” she said eventually, “I am very sorry. We’re currently hosting a professional women’s conference here this week and we are almost completely booked. I don’t have two rooms available tonight, but I do have one left. It does have separate beds, however.” She looked back and forth between the boys, who glared at each other and her smile fell.

“Um…” Harry said.

“Look, I’m exhausted.” The thought of driving around until they found another hotel with open rooms made Louis want to cry. “I’m sure we can survive one night, right?”

Harry huffed out a fine though he sounded anything but.

“If it’s that big a deal we can find—“

“No really. It’s fine. Not what I was expecting but at least we can save a few bucks, right?”

Louis nodded and then turned to the women. “We’ll take it.”

The room was pretty standard as far as mid-range hotel chains went. It was clean and smelled of air conditioning. Louis threw his bags on the bed furthest from the door and peeked out the window as if he hadn’t just been driving through the same scenery all day. Harry sat on the edge of his bed, face wiped of expression.

“You mind if I hop in the shower?” Louis asked as he began digging his toiletries from his bag.

“Nah, you go ahead. Think I’m going to go for a walk.” Harry’s face was a blank slate.

“Okay. Mind reporting back if there’s anything that looks good for dinner?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

“Cool. Thanks.”

They survived a full conversation without a disagreement. Louis counted it as a major win. He shut himself into the bathroom and turned the shower as hot as it would go, quickly filling the small room with steam. After he stripped down he turned the knob down slightly so it was just on the painful side of hot. He stood under the stream, letting it hit the knots in his shoulders, until he was worried he was honestly going to fall asleep and drown. And wouldn’t that be a kicker, going to see Niall after a shark attacks, and drowning in a shower. He climbed out, dried himself off the best he could in the damp room, and cursed himself for not at least bringing in a clean pair of boxers. Wrapping the towel around his waist he walked out into an empty room. He broke out into goose bumps immediately; the cold air was a stark change from the warmth of the steamy shower.

Normally he’d sleep as close to naked as he could get away with, but tonight was a big exception. He pulled up plaid pajama pants over his underwear then pulled a Henley over his chest, and zipped up a hoodie over that. He laid down on top of the made bed and called his mom for a quick chat, just to let her know that they hadn’t yet killed each other and that they had made it through the first leg with no car trouble and were safely locked away in a hotel room for the night. Technically Harry was missing at the moment, since Louis had no idea where he was walking to, but his mom certainly didn’t need to know that detail. As soon as they said their good nights, Louis closed his eyes and slept straight through until the morning.

 

 


	3. TUESDAY

Louis woke up covered in a thin sheen of sweat. He peeled off his hoodie and pajama bottoms and sat up to look around the dark room. Harry must have pulled the curtains together whenever he got in the previous night, as Louis had no sense of the time. Louis looked over to the other bed to find Harry curled in a tight ball, with only a flimsy sheet to cover him, one naked arm on top of the sheet, clutching it tightly. He tried not to be a creeper by staring too long at his long limbs and smattering of tattoos on his muscled biceps but bringing his eyes back to Harry’s face wasn’t helping Louis’ morning wood, which he was trying to will away. Harry looked younger and at peace and was still so, so beautiful when his face wasn’t set in a hard glare. Louis knew that today had to be different. They had to speak more than a handful of sentences to each other. He had to find a way to get Harry to be civil to him again, despite their differences.

He stood and did a series of quick stretches; rotating his shoulders, twisting his back, and touching his toes before extending each heel to stretch his calves. Overall he felt loose and relaxed and was thankful to Last Night Louis for taking that long shower, even though he was heading back in there now to rinse off after sweating through the night. This time the water was just a tad warm and the scent of his grapefruit face wash brought him to full wakefulness. It didn’t do anything for his hard cock though and he knew a quick wank would be the fastest way to deal with his problem. He tried to keep his voice down as he tugged one off, determined to keep Harry out of his thoughts. If he came while attempting to push Harry’s striking lips out of his mind, at least he was trying.

Once Louis had taken care of his most pressing need, his stomach let out a fierce growl and his mind immediately went to a Sausage Egg and Cheese McMuffin. There was a McDonalds right around the corner. It would be easy to get a McMuffin for himself and pancakes for Harry—those were his favorite years ago—and a pile of hash browns for them to share. It was their usual breakfast when they were in high school and too hungover to function properly. They’d skip first period and take turns groaning into their food and recounting the antics of the previous night. Louis knew that he had to extend an olive branch; he couldn’t continue the trip like this. It was his worst nightmare come true, Harry hated him as much as he thought he did and Louis wasn’t sure how to handle it now that he knew the truth. Breakfast wasn’t going to solve all their problems, but he hoped it would be a strong enough memory to at least start a courteous day.

When he returned to the room, Harry was dressed a little more casually then the day before, still in tight jeans but this time with a simple navy sweatshirt and bright yellow sneakers. He sat on the edge of the bed, flipping through the television channels. “Was worried you left without me,” said Harry, without moving his eyes from the screen’s flashing images.

“Nah,” Louis crossed the room and set the bags of food on his bed, “just grabbing breakfast before we headed back out. Slept through dinner.”

“Didn’t miss much.” His eyes still focused straight ahead.

Louis started unpacking the meal, sorting Harry’s into a pile and handing it over. “Peace offering?”

Harry finally turned his face towards Louis in confusion. “For me?”

“Don’t want the rest of this trip to be so quiet.” Louis shrugged, still holding the pancakes out. “You know I’ll start to vibrate out of my skin if I can’t talk for too long.”

Harry finally reached out, and he allowed himself a small smile when he recognized the meal, “You remembered.”

“Course I did.”

“Hash browns?”

Louis passed over a handful, then threw packet after packet of ketchup in Harry’s direction. He ducked from one shot, and asked, “Still a menace?” Harry managed to catch only one from the onslaught, the rest landing all around him.

“Still have the coordination of a baby deer?” Louis retorted.

They ate in silence. The women on the TV were having a panel discussion over some current event that Louis couldn’t bring himself to care about, and the tension had drained from the room. Hash browns always made everything better.

 

They got on the road shortly after they’d finished eating. Louis explained that he was hoping to drive through the rest of Montana, then South Dakota before finally heading south through the Iowan boarder and stopping in Kansas City. It would be their longest leg of the trip, and he was happy that they could make small conversation, because he was pretty sure the landscape was going to put him to sleep.

They spent the eastern end of Montana talking music. At some point Harry plugged the aux cord into his iPhone so he could introduce Louis to all his new favorite songs; an eclectic mix of indie bands, only some of the band names sounding vaguely familiar, and music from a generation or two before theirs, that Louis had definitely heard of, even if he wasn’t knowledgeable about the catalogue. When it got to be too mopey or a few slow songs in a row, Louis would make him swap out devices, allowing them to bring the energy back up with some pop punk that would definitely keep Louis awake, until Harry claimed he’d get a headache and swap back. They had a comfortable pattern that didn’t threaten to rock any boats or touch anything personal. Louis could deal with this.

They kept their truce for a solid five hours as they raced toward Rapid City, South Dakota. Louis’ luck with avoiding speed traps ran out as they passed the city limits. Louis grumbled as the rotating blue and red lights caught his attention and he pulled to a stop on the shoulder.

After turning over his license and registration for the police officers to inspect in their car, Louis tilted his head back on the headrest and closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths to calm his anger.

Harry finally cleared his throat and spoke so quietly Louis thought he might just be talking to himself, “Can’t believe we’re in South Dakota.”

“Yeah, why’s that?” Louis picked his head up and looked over curiously. 

Harry smoothed his hands down his thighs. “Oh, never mind.”

“No, tell me.” Louis needed to force his eyes from Harry’s thighs.

“Remember how much Lottie wanted to vacation here?”

Lottie was the oldest of Louis’ six younger siblings, who used to love nothing more than following Louis and Harry around the neighborhood, trying to be included in whatever trouble they were making. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Harry flushed a bit, “she was proper obsessed there for a bit. Between Sturgis and Mount Rushmore and the Badlands. Kept trying to convince Jay and Mark that it’d be the trip of a lifetime.”

Louis snorted at that. “Guess we should take as many photos as possible then, selfies everywhere to rub it in a bit.”

Harry barked out a laugh. “Nice that the competitiveness between you guys is still there.”

Louis giggled at the sound of Harry’s laugh. His voice had deepened over the years, but his surprised squawk still sounded the same. They were silent for a bit after that, both drinking some water and not looking at each other.

“Did you know Mark left?” Louis asked.

“Yeah, I heard.”

Louis wasn’t sure how much Harry knew about the familial disaster that Louis had fled or how the aftermath played out once he had ensconced himself at college, but he guessed that since Harry was still in the neighborhood at the time, finishing senior year, he knew the highlights. Gossip always traveled fast.

“Dan’s nice.” Harry’s mention brought Louis back to the present.

“Seems like it.” Louis hadn’t actually met his mom’s fiancé in person. The only time he had traveled back to Florida, to meet his newly born siblings, Dan had been away on business. Louis wasn’t sure that they were close enough yet to get into all of that.

Harry ignored the vague statement and plowed on, “Last time I was home I taught them to say Harry. Well, _Har-wee_ , but close enough. They’re too fucking cute.”

Something akin to an ice pick plunged into Louis’ torso. He knew, objectively, that their families were still close, but he had removed Harry from that equation. It was suddenly very clear that everyone else’s life had continued just the same after he left and never looked back.

“You okay?” Harry sounded worried.

Louis forced himself to breathe slowly. He knew he had gone pale from how he was slightly lightheaded. “Yeah, fine. Just miss ’em.”

Harry looked doubtful, but let the subject drop.

Soon after the officer came back with Louis’ paperwork and a $145 speeding ticket and Louis rolled his shoulders before starting the ignition.

“You sure you don’t want me to drive?” Harry had been offering to switch seats all day.

“Promise, I’m good for a few more hours. I’ll let you know.”

Harry immediately curled into himself and against the door. “Then I might nap for a bit.”

“Why would you offer to drive if you’re tired enough to fall asleep immediately?” Louis exclaimed, “Trying to kill us, Curly?”

Harry flinched at the nickname, but otherwise ignored it. “Knew you’d say no. Still wanted to be polite.” Harry let out a small smile.

Louis had to laugh at that one while pulling out back onto the highway. “I’ll keep the music down.”

“It’s fine.” It was quiet for a bit, but just before he fell asleep Louis heard him say, “No one’s called me Curly in years.” A few seconds later his breathing evened out and Louis eventually turned the music off so he could better hear the soft snores coming from the passenger’s side.

When they finally hit Sioux Falls on the other side of South Dakota Louis agreed to give up the driver’s seat. They stocked up on enough gas station candy and chips to make it through the next leg of the trip. They were counting on some good barbeque, even if it would be a late dinner, once they arrived in Kansas City. Neither boy had been to either Iowa or Nebraska but the flat land didn’t surprise them. They commented on passengers in other cars that drove along side of them, creating elaborate stories of who they were and where they were traveling to, in an effort to keep themselves awake. The hours were passing surprisingly fast and before they knew it they hit the Missouri border.

Louis googled different barbecue joints and thought they all sounded pretty similar. He and Harry finally picked one that was open 24 hours and on their route. Right before they pulled into the parking lot, Jay called Louis to let the boys know that Niall had finally woken up and his recovery was coming along better than anticipated. They could smell the food as soon as they stepped out of the car and neither could decide on what they wanted so they ordered a huge sampler and shared, digging in without any pretense of manners; washing it down with a bucket of beers. They figured it was exactly how Niall would’ve wanted them to celebrate his good news.

When Louis fell into bed, they agreed sharing a room made more fiscal sense; he realized two things with startling clarity. First, how much he had missed Harry’s friendship. He spent so much time being angry at the boy that he almost forgot how many years of friendship they had before he went and ruined it all. And second, how his devastating crush was back with a force that made his chest hurt. 


	4. WEDNESDAY

“Lou. Lou. Loouuuuuuu”

“Ngargh” Louis swatted away the hand that was relentlessly poking him.

“Louuuuuuuu. Wake up! I come bearing breakfast.” He felt a few more pokes. “Including bacon. Come on. Up and at ’em!”

“What time is it?” Louis struggled to open his eyes.

“Uh, six thirty?” Harry pulled his body away from Louis as though maybe he just realized the hour.

Louis let out a whine that ended in, “Whyyyyyyy?” 

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“And you thought I wanted to be awake too?” Louis interrupted.

Harry laughed. “Not exactly, but I was looking at a map and I thought maybe we could stop in Nashville.”

“Sure. No problem. Again, why am I awake?”

“Oh, I mean,” Harry faltered a bit, “I was hoping that we could like, stop and explore, maybe get some drinks? Like, make a day of it? So maybe we could get on the road early, get there as soon as possible?” He spoke slowly, as Louis fully woke up.

Louis debated if drinking with Harry was a good idea. It definitely wasn’t. But they were speaking, at least, and he had always wanted to see Nashville. He threw the blankets off his chest while telling himself he could have a few without losing control.

“I’m up, I’m up,” he finally groaned.

“Yes, that’s a yes?” Harry leapt up and did a little hip shake celebration, the most emotion he had shown all trip.

“Not fair, you know bacon’s my weakness.”

 

The drive east through Missouri and then down toward Tennessee passed quickly. Harry relaxed his long limbs, ankles raised on the dashboard, right arm tapping on his window to the rhythms of the changing songs. The conversation flowed easily from the moment Harry asked about Louis’ tattoos and they found out that they shared a smattering of nautical themed inks. The same artist even did Harry’s ship in the same style as Louis’ compass. Louis was honestly surprised that after all their plans to take to the water someday, Harry would want those reminders on his body.

They stopped for some fries and Cokes somewhere along the route, more for stretching than a need for a big meal. In the parking lot next to the drive thru, Harry attempted to show Louis some basic yoga poses, because in addition to being gorgeous he would be flexible as well, of course. Harry’s back muscles flexed under his tight shirt and his biceps became more pronounced when they were needed to hold his weight. When Harry reached up to the sky raising his shirt, Louis fixated on Harry’s sparse treasure trail and needed a deep breath to steady himself. After a few minutes of trying to avert his eyes from Harry’s body while also keeping an eye on the poses, Louis gave up. He claimed failure before he fell down on the hot asphalt.

“Honestly, Harry, think you needed a mat and a temperature controlled room for that.”

Harry let out another barking laugh as they climbed back into the car.

Louis listened to Harry talk about his classes and dabbling in songwriting with emphatic hand motions. Louis promised to come check out one of his open mics when they were back in the Pacific Northwest, and Louis happily talked about his pop punk band and how they were just finishing up recording their first EP. Harry caught Louis up on his sister, Gemma’s, career path while Louis moaned about how quickly his siblings were growing up. If they avoided the topic of relationships, or anything below a surface level, no one could prove that Louis preferred it. Before Louis knew it they pulled into Nashville’s city limits.

 

After settling in their hotel and grabbing a quick bite for dinner, they walked until they decided arbitrarily on which honkytonk to enter. The music wasn’t exactly Louis’ cup of tea, so to speak, but the drinks were strong and it was a great place to people watch. 

Harry excused himself to the restroom as the current set, a solo guitarist, wrapped up. Louis hung back to guard their barstools, but as the minutes passed and Harry wasn’t anywhere to be seen, Louis’ bladder started complaining. He finished his tequila and soda in one long swig, resisted a shudder as the alcohol slid down his throat, and took off in the what he thought was the right direction, a little less steady on his feet than he anticipated.

He found Harry in the back hallway, standing inches away from the man they had just watched on stage. The musician leaned in to say something into Harry’s ear as Louis walked by. The man was unnecessarily close considering there was no one on stage. Louis paused, taken aback by what looked like Harry flirting, with a man who wasn’t him. Harry looked up, smile faltering as he caught Louis’ eye.

“Uh, sorry,” Louis stammered as he slunk into the bathroom. As soon as it left his mouth he chastised himself. There was no reason for him to apologize; they were in public, and it’s not even like Louis had caught Harry in a compromising position. Harry wasn’t even interested in guys, he reasoned to himself; maybe they were talking about the music scene. Louis had been in that exact position enough times to know that was not the case. He knew flirting when he saw it.

A flare of jealousy ran down Louis’ spine, settling uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach, not helped by the drinks he had downed. He had been successful in tamping down his attraction to Harry, reminding himself that he was capital O, capital L, Off Limits, and pulling his eyes away when he felt himself lingering a bit longer than would be deemed strictly friendly. Finished with his business, Louis washed his hands then splashed some water on his face, trying to calm his racing heartbeat with a few deep breathes. Harry could do whatever he wanted, with whomever he wanted. Louis had been back in Harry’s life for a grand total of what, sixty hours? He couldn’t let himself get wrapped back up in the same emotions that had broken him years ago.

With a final deep breath he pulled the door open and steeled himself to see whatever action Harry was involved in. But he found Harry standing there waiting for him, the other guy nowhere to be found.

“Hey,” Harry started, “That wasn’t… I mean… it wasn’t what it looked like.”

Louis tried to shrug it off and forced any emotion from his face. “Didn’t look like anything, pal.”

“Can we just talk for a minute? Maybe find somewhere quiet to sit?”

“Look, it’s fine. Whatever it is, it’s fine.”

“It’s really not.” Harry looked distraught. “Please, please give me a chance to explain.”

“Fine. Go find a table, I’ll grab the next round.” Louis was suddenly more sober than he wanted to be for this discussion. Harry nodded then headed back to the row of tables along the side wall.

 

Once they settled into the table, Harry launched into his explanation while Louis picked at the label affixed to his beer bottle. “First of all, I need to apologize.” Louis tried to interrupt, but was cut off my Harry’s insistence, “Please, just let me get through this. I’ve literally been thinking about this moment for five years and I need to get it out now before I lose my nerve.”

Louis nodded for him to continue.

“Okay, so, first of all, I need to apologize. When you… when you came out to me that summer, it was the bravest thing I had ever seen in real life. I was so wrapped up in my head when you said that, when you said you were gay, all I could think was how strong you were, how you knew who you were, that you were able to say it out loud.” Louis brought his hand up to fix his fringe, a nervous habit he never grew out of, and felt the confused wrinkle on his forehead. Harry kept on, “Like, I was so mixed up, right? I had no idea how people figured this stuff out. That you knew what you were was just… Sorry, I’m doing a terrible job at this.” Harry took a moment and continued. “I just, I was trying to figure myself out, trying to separate who I liked from who I _like_ liked, you know. And you just sounded so confident, like you knew exactly who you were, like it was all so easy for you.”

“I was petrified.” Louis plowed ahead of Harry’s prostrations, “You were the first person I decided to tell. I threw up like an hour before I came over. I wasn’t even sure, I mean, until I said it, I wasn’t sure I could. It felt like the exact opposite of brave.” Louis couldn’t believe Harry thought him brave, of all things, during that moment. It was literally the worst moment of his life.

Harry smiled. “I know that now. I mean, twenty-one year old me knows that. It’s easier now, like coming out to new friends and stuff, but it’s still nerve-racking at times. Saying it the first time was the worst.”

“Wait, what?” Louis snapped his head up from his bottle to Harry’s face. “You’re?”

“Gay? Yeah. Surprise!” Harry threw his hands in the air. “But that is not the point right now. I’m trying to apologize. When I told my mom, there was a moment, right before she hugged me, where she just looked at me, it must have been half a second? Less? And I just thought, ‘oh God, this is it, there is when I find out that I’ve disappointed her.’” They both took a deep breath while Harry fixed his eyes on Louis’. “And as she was hugging me I realized how I had failed you. I knew it, like right away, as soon as you took off, I knew I had fucked up, but I didn’t _really_ understand until I had that moment and it turned out okay.”

Louis was having a hard time processing all of this information. Harry was gay. He wasn’t a homophobe who despised him; he had just been a confused kid. “Sorry, I…” Louis tried to focus. “When? When did you realize?”

“Uh, the day after you confessed to me? Like, I think I just allowed myself to see the crush I actually had, instead of the crushes others had tried to foist on me. Remember Nadine and how Gemma used to tease me all the time about her?” Harry tipped his head at Louis who nodded, “Well, I just realized that I didn’t have a crush on her, she was pretty, obviously, but I didn’t get jitters around her. I didn’t think about her when she wasn’t around, she just wasn’t _it_ for me. And once that realization hit, everything else sort of fell into place.”

“Oh,” still not the all-encompassing crush that Louis had on Harry. He wondered who it was, if they had ever gotten together.

“Yeah, I mean, once I talked to my mom I knew I had to apologize to you, but you wouldn’t take my calls. For weeks, you just shut me out, and my mom, she just said that you probably needed some time, right, so I tried to give you that, but then you just, you left. You went left for college and changed your number and never came back.” Harry let out a small sob as his voice cracked.

Louis rushed up and moved across the table so he could pull Harry into a hug. “Fuck. I am so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“We were best friends. You were my everything. And I made the biggest mistake of my life and I will regret forever that I didn’t immediately tell you that you were loved and my best friend and the greatest person I knew, whether you were gay or straight or bi or ace or whatever. I’m so sorry and I hope one day you’ll forgive me.”

Louis was crying into Harry’s shoulder during his apology. This is not how Louis imagined this conversation to go at all. He still couldn’t believe they were having it at all. “Fuck. Fuck you and your great apology. I was so wrapped up in my own head; my own mess that I didn’t even stop to consider what else might be going through your mind.” Louis wiped a tear from Harry’s cheek before continuing. “I leapt immediately to my number one fear and clung stubbornly to that pain. I thought… I assumed that when you were trying to call that you were going to say the terrible things I thought I had read on your face. I couldn’t listen to that, not from you. I didn’t want you to think the worst of me.”

Harry took Louis’ chin in his hand and forced eye contact, “Never. That’s impossible.” He let go of his chin, and sandwiched Louis’ smaller hands in his much larger hands. “I’m still slightly insulted you thought the worst of me. Every day since then I’ve tried to be a better person, so no one would ever think that of me again.”

“No!” Louis let out a wet laugh. “You’re the best person. Everyone knows I’m too stubborn. You though, you really are the best.”

They held on to each other until their sniffles had stopped and their crying turned to laughter.

Louis suddenly looked up seriously. “Liam and Niall will be so happy that they can mention your name again.” This set them off on a new peel of laughter.

“We’re probably such a sight right now. Come for the music, stay to watch the sobbing gays in the corner,” Harry joked.

“Can we go to the hotel? I think the last thing I need is more alcohol at this point.”

 

They received another room with two queen-sized beds, but when they stumbled into the room, Harry crashed onto one and pulled Louis down next to him. “Thank you,” Harry whispered.

“I’ll never stop apologizing for being so stubborn. I’m so sorry.”

“I’m happy we talked. Are we fixed? Can we be friends?”

Louis had spent all of his teenage years pining after his best friend, and that whole time he thought it was the worst possible situation he could imagine, so close to what he wanted, but so far. But now, after all this time and his foolishness, he would take re-living that situation in a heartbeat and count himself lucky. “Yeah, friends forever.”

They lay on the bed, clothes reeking of cigarettes and booze, and stayed wrapped around each other. As Louis drifted off to sleep, he heard Harry’s low drawl, “And I wasn’t interested in the guy earlier.” It was the last thought Louis had before he drifted asleep. 


	5. THURSDAY

Louis awoke in the very early morning feeling like something had died in his mouth. The sun was just starting to peek through the windows. Alternating shrill noises were threatening to split his head in half. He woke enough to realize that he was uncomfortable, still wearing last night’s skinny jeans and sweater and pinned down by Harry’s arm thrown over his chest. Well, that part he didn’t mind, but he slid out from under him anyway and stumbled over to where his phone had fallen last night.

“Ma, yeah? What’s wrong?”

“Oh thank God! Neither you nor Harry called to check in last night, or answered any texts. Anne and I have been going crazy. We thought something happened.”

Louis looked over to where Harry was starting to stir and tried to keep his voice down. “We’re fine. Sorry, we forgot I guess. But we’re in Nashville. We’ll be home tomorrow.” Tomorrow. The trip had gone faster than he expected, and tomorrow it’d be over. They said their goodbyes and Louis promised to check in that night no matter what.

Harry let out a low moan, and winked open one eye. “Come back. Sleep in today.” Louis could hardly fight that, though he knew sleeping in was still going to be earlier then he’d like, but he’d take any time he could get. He slid out of his dirty clothes and returned to bed, leaving some space between their bodies. “Hrmph. Cuddle.” Harry reached back and pulled Louis to his back, making himself the little spoon, and they settled in for another hour or two of sleep.

 

Louis re-awoke to Harry staring at him like a creeper. So Louis called him out on it. “Creepy.”

“Happy.”

“Oh yeah?”

Harry barked out a laugh. “You have no idea. When I was told I had to do this trip, I didn’t dare get my hopes up that maybe we could patch things up. Friends again is beyond. I’m really happy.”

Louis tugged on a strand of hair cascading over his forehead. “Me too, Curly.”

They stayed for a beat, just looking at each other with dopey grins, until Louis’ cock gave a twitch of interest and he broke the moment before it got awkward again. He launched himself out of bed. “Up and at ’em again! Let’s get our asses to Orlando.”

Harry rolled off the other side of the bed and let out a yelp. “Nope!” Louis was distracted by way Harry wrapped his mouth around the vowels. Now that Harry was relaxed and had settled into himself he seemed younger. Stiff and formal were not looks that Louis liked on him; he much preferred this loose-limbed and clumsy version.

“What do you, mean nope? You have a better plan?”

“Yep!” Another pop and Louis tried to ignore Harry’s lips. “Orlando will be expensive, too many tourists. We should stay in… drum roll please…” Harry rolled his tongue and growled in his throat before exclaiming, “Kissimmee!”

Both boys broke out into giggles. “Really? Kissimmee? Still obsessed?”

“Still romantic you mean,” Harry protested. “Never did get a kiss in Kissimmee. One of my life goals.” Harry caught Louis’ eyes as Louis walked into the bathroom and Harry wiggled his eyebrows.

“Oh God,” Louis broke out into another fit of laughter. “Fine, Kissimmee it is, but just because it’s fun to say, not because you’re trying to get laid.”

Harry pumped his fist in success.

 

Once the friendship was mended and the air cleared, it was like the floodgates had opened and they were just as tactile as they had been as teenagers; bumping shoulders, grabbing thighs to claim wandering attention, fingers fighting for control of the playlist. Every time they touched a little thrill ran through Louis though he tried to ignore it; he just got Harry back in his life, he wasn’t about to mess it up immediately. He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed so hard, having to pull over to the shoulder at one point because he couldn’t see through the tears that were pooling in his eyes.

At a gas station convenience store in Georgia, Harry plastered himself to Louis’ back and clung to him through the store, causing them to tangle their feet and trip more than once. He swore that Harry even took a sniff of his neck.

“What? I like your smell, you smell like home,” he insisted back in the car when Louis ribbed him about it. Louis turned and stuck out a teasing tongue at Harry, who immediately broke into a grin and returned the action.

From the Florida state line all the way to Orlando, Harry insisted on playing nothing but 90s boy bands and girl groups at top volume, both boys singing to the well-known songs along until their throats went dry. They fought about who would be who in each band, Louis claiming Sporty Spice and JC as his two strongest alter egos. Harry went with Scary Spice and Justin Timberlake. Louis allowed it mostly due to the curls.

Louis pulled into first hotel they saw in the Kissimmee city limits. The ten-hour drive from Nashville had exhausted him and he was more than ready to shower then fall into bed for at least twelve straight hours. He dropped Harry off at the front door, and then circled back to the parking lot, pulling out their luggage while Harry sorted their room situation. Just as he walked indoors, his phone rang and he answered with an exasperated sigh.

“I told you we’d call. We’re just walking to our room now. I’ll call you back in a few.” Louis motioned for Harry to lead the way while he wrapped up the call, but then his mom kept talking. “Oh, okay. Thanks for letting us know. We’re crashing in Kissimmee, tomorrow should be an easy drive. We’ll get there in the afternoon.” They said their goodbyes as Harry reached their room and unlocked the door with the keycard.

“Niall’s already out. Discharged today. He still has lots of recovery, obviously, but at least he’ll get to do it at home instead in the hospital.” Harry threw his arms around Louis in celebration before he even got all the news out. “Liam’s back too, so it’ll be the whole gang back together!”

They finally got into the room and Louis gasped.

“Sorry, they only had rooms with one bed? I can sleep on the floor or chair or something.” Harry blushed a deep pink and Louis pointedly did not think about all the other activities that could cause the same reaction.

“Don’t be silly. It’s fine. We’ve been sharing beds our whole lives. We shared one last night!” Louis hoped he sounded more composed than he felt.

They got settled, ordered way too much room service, and then flipped through the channels on the screen until they settled on _Love Actually_ , something they used to watch religiously.

By the time they finished their dinner and the movie, they were snuggled together under the covers and neither wanted to move even to reach for the remote to turn off the television. Louis’ face was tucked into the crook of Harry’s neck, his fingers grazing up and down Harry’s torso. Harry had his arms tight around Louis’ waist, one hand lazily dangling dangerously close to the curve of Louis’ ass.

“Missed this, you know.” Harry murmured.

Louis nodded with little room he had. “Mmmm.”

“Always fit together perfectly.”

Louis tilted his head up and looked into Harry’s green eyes. He didn’t trust his voice; he knew that if he tried to speak, his last secret, his unwavering love for his best friend would come spilling out. Instead he blinked up at Harry then pressed his lips to the nearest expanse of skin, the top of his shoulder.

Harry reacted by pulling Louis closer and kissing his forehead with a lasting smack. After a minute, Harry hooked his finger under Louis’ chin and pulled his face out of hiding. Harry dragged his eyes from Louis’ down to his lips, while Louis looked from Harry’s lips up to his questioning eyes. Harry slowly, carefully moved forward. He kept flicking his eyes up to meet Louis’ giving him opportunities to pull back, frown, stop Harry in any way. Louis could feel his heart pounding in his ears, as Harry got infinitesimally closer.

Their lips connected. It was soft, barely brushing against each other, and Louis felt his heart race impossibly faster as they slowly pressed together harder, lips slotted together, sharing tiny kiss after tiny kiss. Louis felt Harry’s tongue press gently against the seam of his lips, so he parted them to let him in and suddenly the world’s axis tilted and every doubt he had worried about for however many years fell away as their tongues lapped over each other, gently exploring what the other felt like. Harry gripped Louis’ waist tighter and brought his other hand up to grip the nape of his neck. Louis kept rubbing the length of his thumb across Harry’s cheekbones in sync with the circling commentary in his head, _this is happening, this is actually happening, fuck Harry is so sexy, I knew he’d be a great kisser, this is happening is this actually happening._

Louis had no idea how long they kissed, but when they finally pulled apart, Harry’s lips were swollen and red, his eyes dilated, his cheeks flushed, and the top portion of his hair had gone from a sculpted curl to disheveled rat’s nest. He never looked better. Louis suspected his own look was similar but was so caught up in Harry’s beauty that he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

Harry finally broke their silence with a whisper, “Been wanting to do that for ages.”

“Really?” Louis giggled, honest to God giggled. “Had you done it right after I confessed my big gay secret you could’ve saved us years of heartache.”

Harry burst into laughter too, “Don’t you dare pin this on me, what if you had just kissed me instead of giving me a formal presentation?”

“That was actually going to be the second confession of the day.”

Harry laughed, “Seriously?”

“We were both idiots.”

“I like to think I learn from my mistakes.”

They continued to giggle and kiss into each other’s smiles until they finally settled enough to fall asleep wrapped around each other.

 


	6. FRIDAY

The following morning was filled with lazy kisses before they got out of bed, then more lazy kisses while they were getting ready, and then another round of lazy kisses before they returned to the car for the last leg of the trip. Louis had woken up in the middle of the night, concerned that their make out session was going to make things weird again. He worked through all sorts of apologies in his head; he refused to make the same mistakes again and was determined to fight to stay in Harry’s life. But he woke up to Harry peppering kisses across his face and lit up with a bright smile once Louis pried his eyes open, and all reservations flew out the window.

They showered one at a time, Louis proud of his ability to leave Harry alone as he thought of him wet and soapy and likely hard. After Louis’ shower, he pulled on his Queen’s Surf shirt. Harry gasped when he saw it.

“You still have that?” Harry’s eyes raked down Louis’ body.

“Yeah, a bit tight these days, but could never get rid of it.” It was a souvenir from when Louis went with Harry’s family on their Hawaiian vacation. They promised at some point as adults to travel back again by boat. “That trip was the one when I realized how I felt about you.”

 

By the time they drove through Miami they were holding hands over the console and trying to come up with menu items for a bakery concept that revolved around celebrity name based pastry puns. Right around Robert Brownie Jr., Harry’s stomach growled loudly.

“Food talk making you hungry, eh?”

Harry shrugged, “Wouldn’t mind stopping for a bit of a stretch.”

Louis agreed. He had been alternating between half hard and achingly hard for most of the trip, now that his body had been reminded how great Harry’s touch was, it seemed he couldn’t get enough and just wanted more. His skinny jeans were doing a great job of holding it down in place, but he was desperate for an adjustment.

They pulled over at the next service station advertising a Starbucks so they could top off their caffeine levels while they were stopped. Harry left Louis’ side with a chaste kiss, to go in and get in line while Louis filled up the gas tank. They met back up outside the building where Louis was doing a set of calf stretches. Harry strolled out, promptly set down their food and drinks, and pulled Louis into a bruising kiss. After making out for a few minutes, Harry broke away just far enough to mutter out, “Missed you.”

Between kisses Louis responded, “Sappy.”

“You should talk. Or don’t. More kisses please.”

Without realizing it, Louis rocked his groin against Harry, searching for any sort of friction for his quickly thickening cock. Harry responded by mimicking the act while clinging even tighter to Louis.

Louis pulled away with a gasp. “There is no way that the first time we’re getting off together is on the side of the road.”

Harry whined, then agreed with Louis, “Yeah, I suppose we can do better than humping in public during the day.”

“Tonight? We’re really just a bridge away from home.”

“A really, really long bridge,” Harry whined again. “Yes. Tonight. Can’t go any longer without you.”

Spurred on by anticipation, the rest of the drive was mostly silence punctuated by Louis drumming his fingers on the steering wheel or Harry tapping his feet against the dashboard while groaning at the traffic.

 

Harry had been giving Jay and Anne updates every minute, so by the time they pulled on to their childhood street, a crowd had gathered on Louis’ driveway. Louis pulled in and barely got the car in park before his sibling were attacking from both sides, the oldest two, Lottie and Fizzy, trying to wrap Louis in a hug, while the oldest twins, Daisy and Phoebe were dragging Harry from the car.

After all the siblings were hugged and kissed the adults took their turn. Jay couldn’t help shedding tears as she clung to Louis, so happy that he had made it back. Anne and Jay switched kids then, Anne crushing Louis while whispering how happy she was and how much she had missed him. He was passed to Robin, Harry’s stepdad, next who was only marginally less gentle with his affection and finally over to Dan who wrapped him up tight and gave him several pats on the back.

“You boys must be famished, come, we’re cooking out back.” Jay led them around the side of the house.

“Mom, we’ve done nothing but sit for a week. Not that hungry.”

“Oh shush, you won’t be able to resist some home cooking.”

“Count me in, Jay. You know I can never resist your potato salad.” Harry winked at Louis and muttered loud enough so only he could hear, “Gotta start buttering up the in-laws.”

Louis had to laugh at that. “You know very well that they already love you more than me.”

 

The afternoon was spent playing a backyard game of soccer, slowly nursing beers, and repeating answers to the same questions again and again as different combinations of the family mingled. From across the yard Harry and Louis shared seductive winks that escalated as the day wore on. Louis licked his lips more enthusiastically than needed while cleaning some stray crumbs. Harry responded by wiping the side of his mouth with his thumb. Liam eventually stopped by and couldn’t wipe the grin from his face whenever he looked from Louis to Harry, despite—or maybe because of—their sexual tension.

After the third time he caught Louis staring at Harry from across the yard, he finally started the ribbing, “So I guess he-who-can-not-be-mentioned is no longer the bad guy?”

Louis really did not want to lose face, though he realized it would a losing battle in the end. “He apologized. But he knows what he did.”

Liam just shook his head and pulled Louis into a hug, “I’m just glad you both pulled your head out of your asses.” After a beat he continued, “You’ll need the room for a different body part.”

Louis groaned, “I didn’t miss you at all, you know that?” He broke into another grin and noticed his face actually hurt from all the smiling. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.

“I gotta get home, but see you tomorrow at Niall’s alright? Can’t believe the two of you are back. Niall’s gonna flip.” Liam left after another round of hugs and promises that Louis wouldn’t disappear into the night.

Once the festivities wound down and Louis tucked the tiniest twins into bed, he sat with Jay and Dan around their kitchen table, sipping tea and catching up on other neighborhood news and wedding planning. He was only half listening through, as his phone kept lighting up with texts from across the street.

“Go. Go!” Jay stood up from her chair, “Go get your boy. We’ll see you for breakfast tomorrow.” Louis pulled his eyes from his phone to his mom. She raised her eyebrows, “You two are not subtle.” Dan and Jay both laughed as Louis tried to look affronted.

 

Anne and Robin were heading up to bed as Louis let himself into their house. There was another round of hugs and kisses and promises to talk more in the morning and finally they were alone after Anne gave Harry a pointed look and one last comment, “Be safe.”

“Oh God, Mom. Good night.” Harry groaned and hid his face in his hands.

 

“Should we put on a movie?” Harry started to dig around the couch cushions for the remote.

“Nah, not planning on paying attention to anything else,” Louis admitted.

As soon as Harry sat down on the couch Louis launched himself at him, landing in his lap. “Finally,” Harry murmured as their lips connected. The kiss started passionately, tongues dancing together, and fingers gripping where they could find traction. After only a few minutes Harry started rocking up into Louis, their clothed cocks making contact. Louis let out a low moan and arched into the sensation. 

Harry pulled away from the kiss and nipped down the line of Louis’ neck. “Need to touch you.”

“Please.” Louis let out a moan he wasn’t aware he was holding in.

Harry licked the dip of Louis’ collarbones. “Shhh. Quiet, you.”

Louis went to undo the button of his shorts, but Harry swatted his hand away. Instead Harry flipped their positions and laid Louis down at the opposite end of the couch, rucked his shirt up near his armpits, then started a trail of kisses, licks, and bites down his torso. Harry couldn’t help but rock his hips into the couch when he hit the patch of hair starting from Louis’ tiny pouch of stomach and ending hidden below his waistband. He undid the button and slowly unzipped Louis’ fly with one hand while the other pinched and tweaked his small nipples.

Louis let out a continuous stream of moans and curses. As Harry pulled his shorts and boxers down in one smooth motion, freeing Louis’ dick, Louis only got louder. Harry, cheeks flushed and eyes blown, looked up at Louis from between his legs and swatted his stomach.

"Shush," Harry murmured, pressing a finger to Louis' lips. He raised one eyebrow and curled the side of his mouth into a half-smile. "Or I'll have to gag you."

Louis’ stomach jolted and his hips jerked upward. Well. That might be something to explore at a later date. Louis nipped at Harry's finger but missed. He inhaled deeply, held his breath for a moment, and slowly exhaled. He smiled and nodded down at Harry before whispering, “I’ll be good, I promise.”

When Harry licked a long stripe up Louis’ cock, Louis let out his loudest groan yet which prompted Harry to giggle. “Seriously Lou, we’re in my mom’s living room and I really, _really_ don’t want to hear her telling us to keep it down.”

Louis snorted and threw his arm across his face, covering his mouth

When Harry returned to his task at hand, he opened up and took down Louis’ whole penis in one go, flattening his tongue and relaxing his throat. Louis grabbed a handful of Harry’s hair and Harry let out a moan that vibrated around Louis’s rock hard cock. Harry continued to rut against Louis’ leg as he bobbed up and down over Louis.

Louis knew this was going to be over embarrassingly quickly. “Not gonna last, babe,” Louis tried yanking Harry as warning, but Harry just doubled down on his efforts. The wail Louis let out as he came down Harry’s throat was barely damped by his arm and Harry’s hips stuttered to a stop.

Once Louis had regained a bit of composure he motioned down to Harry’s crotch, “Did you just—?”

“Yeah,” Harry flushed bright pink, “I need to go change.”

They both started laughing until Louis turned it serious again. “Nah, let’s go upstairs and just take them off for round two.”

 


	7. SATURDAY

“Nialler!” Harry and Louis shouted in unison as they walked hand in hand into Niall’s house. Maura, Niall’s mom met them at the door with tears in her eyes.

“I’m so glad you boys are here. Niall and Liam are up in Niall’s room. I’m about to pop over to the store. Any special requests?” she asked quickly. “I’ll just be gone for a few.”

“No, we’re good thanks, just here really to give him a hard time,” Louis joked.

Maura smiled. “It is a shame that it took a shark trying to get away with my son’s leg for you boys to come back for a visit. Let’s not have that happen again, yeah?”

Harry looked down at Louis and lit up with a smile. “Nah, I think we’ll be around more often now.”

“Good. Well, up you go.” She shooed them toward the staircase and walked out the front door.

“I’m gonna win!” Louis shouted as he took off up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

“No fair,” Harry claimed when he caught up to him outside of Niall’s door. “I suppose you think you get a prize for winning.”

“Yep! Sure do! I’ll think about it and let you know what I want.”

Harry knocked on the door, “You’re such a brat.”

“I’m your brat,” Louis answered as he opened the door without waiting for a response from within. “We’re here!”

 

“Liam, am I ODing on morphine? Why does it look like Louis and Harry arrived here together, with their arms around each other?” Niall’s trademark bottle-blonde hair laid flat against his head, his mouth quirked in confusion. He was propped up in bed, a mess of pillows and blankets surrounding his small frame.

Liam shrugged from the computer chair he was sitting in across the room, “Thought they should be the ones to tell you the good news.”

“Listen up Niall, and listen up good because this is the only time I’m ever going to say this.” Louis pointed a finger at Niall as he took a few steps into the bedroom. “You were right all along.”

Niall cackled with glee.

“Don’t get cocky, like I said this is a one-time thing. But I can admit that I should’ve listened to you and given H here a second chance instead of shutting him out of my life.” Louis bent down and kissed the crown of Niall’s head. “Also, I’m hoping those drugs will keep you doped up enough that you don’t remember me saying that.”

“Not a chance bro, I’m going to have that put on my gravestone, ‘Tommo said I was right.’”

Liam shuddered, “Let’s not talk about dying when you were literally in a coma two days ago.”

Niall laughed, “You should’ve seen the other guy.”

Harry stood right next to Louis and went in for a Niall hug, then thought better of it and kissed his forehead instead. “Should’ve been a shark snack ages ago, that’s really all it took.”

“Seriously though,” Louis tentatively sat on a bottom corner of the bed, but on Niall’s wince, took to the floor instead, “how you holding up? Mom didn’t tell me much, broke down in tears anytime I tried to get details.”

“You know the important stuff. Survived a shark attack. Should get a shirt or something for that. But it’s honestly not so bad, all things considering, rehab for my leg’s gonna be a total bitch, lost a lot of blood and the pain meds make me loopy, so can’t get back out there for a while. I’m going to go stir crazy waiting to get back out to the beach.”

The three of them laughed. “You’re fucking crazy, man.” Liam said.

“Yeah, maybe,” he shrugged, “but it all seemed to work out, yeah?”

Harry elbowed Louis in the side with a smile.

“Who’s up for some FIFA?” Niall looked around the room.

Louis was already scrambling for the Xbox controllers. “Hopefully the meds slow you down just enough that we have an advantage.” He cackled evilly.

They played until Niall’s next round of pain medication knocked him out again. As they were wrapping up, Louis couldn’t help but think that this was the happiest he had been in years, the old gang back together, some time to relax in the sun, and soon a whole drive back to Washington with his boyfriend.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I owe a huge thank you to my wonderful betas.
> 
> To Sarah, Mia, Lo, & AP, thank you for the huge support as I venture into the fan fic community, your willingness to read outside your fandoms, and making sure this was a cohesive work. I’m so grateful to have friends like you.
> 
> To my other beta, [gettingaphdinlarry](http://www.gettingaphdinlarry.tumblr.com), I can’t thank you enough for your attention to detail and calling me out when I was being a lazy writer. I’m indebted to your incisive criticism.
> 
> [Here's a rebloggable tumblr post if you'd like to share!](http://louandhazaf.tumblr.com/post/145357230603/title-through-the-jungle-through-the-dark-author)
> 
>  
> 
> Also, come say hi to me on tumblr! [LouAndHazAF](http://www.louandhazaf.tumblr.com)  
>  


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